THERE IS HOPE, BUT NOT FOR US

It doesn't surprise you to see a dead body in the middle of Goldhawk Road; it's hardly murder in paradise.

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While chugging up Shepherd's Bush Road with a friend and turning left onto Goldhawk Road, I see a dead body.

There is huge activity: sirens screaming, police cars, and ambulances rushing about. We can go no further; the street has been taped off. But I can see there is a body in the middle of the road covered with a green tarpaulin.

In my favourite coffee shop — which has a panoramic view of the entrance to Shepherd's Bush Market, where one can see all human life — I speak with the manageress the next day. She had the misfortune of overseeing the whole incident.

Two disturbed individuals were fighting, one stabbing the other seventeen times, leaving gaping holes in his body. The perpetrator fled but was chased down by brave members of the public and eventually arrested.

A few days before this, my son Carlo and his girlfriend were in Joe and the Juice on Kensington High Street when two thieves slid in, picked up her phone, and attempted to escape. Carlo put the thief in a headlock, dragged him to the floor, while landing body shots. The police arrived shortly after, too late to catch them.

These two events bring to mind others from the last five years. My sons are often getting into scrapes and violent situations in this mad town. Recently, Sachin was picked up by a fake Uber driver, who stole his SIM card and emptied his bank accounts.

(Please read Sachin’s piece on the incident here)

Not long before, the same son had to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dying addict on his front steps. For his pains, Sachin received a bloodied mouth and had to go to A&E to be tested for HIV.

On another occasion, while walking the dog, Sachin discovered a trail of blood, which he followed for some time, leading him to a filthy basement flat with a broken window. He climbed in and found a dying addict bleeding out.

(Again, please read Sachin’s write up of this incident here)